During a summer schedule in which they made the most of second chances, including twice to win California Beach Volleyball Association tournament titles, that opportunity never materialized Sunday for Granada Hills’ Amber Hawthorne and Flintridge Sacred Heart’s Alyssa Walton.

Competing in the California Cup state championship, the nation’s most prestigious amateur tournament, Hawthorne and Walton needed to defeat Downey’s Makayla Taylor and Long Beach Wilson’s Audrey Castro in their final pool-play match to reach the 16-under playoffs.

But Castro and Taylor rallied from a three-point deficit for a 28-23 victory, not only propelling them into the single-elimination draw, but all the way to the final against Mater Dei’s Sara Hughes and Los Alamitos’ Justine Wong-Orantes at Manhattan Beach.

Walton and Hawthorne, Legacy Volleyball Club teammates, matched their finish from last year’s California Cup by tying for seventh place.

The seniors capped an impressive summer that included four titles, two second-place finishes and three third-place results in 11 tournaments.

“I think the competition is even better than it was last year,” Hawthorne said. “I take a lot of pride in being one of the top eight teams in California in beach volleyball. It’s exciting to be able to say that.”

The Delaware-bound Walton and Hawthorne, a UC San Diego commit, held their own in a pool that featured three of the four semifinalists.

Newport Harbor’s Cinnamon Sary and Alexandra Holbrook won the pool, but lost to Castro and Taylor in their semifinal rematch, and Notre Dame Academy’s Alexandra Reale and La Costa Canyon’s Brooke Shupryt-Knoop – second in the pool – fell to Hughes and Wong-Orantes in the other semifinal.

“I think if we lived by the beach and played as much as they do, we could’ve given them a better game,” said Walton, a Valencia resident.

“We always want to do extra stuff in order to play better, but it’s hard to try a new strategy for the first time during a match. But through playing on the beach, I’ve learned to become more instinctive, more communicative and I’ve shown more leadership.”

Hawthorne’s performance was particularly impressive since the setter returned late Saturday night from helping Granada Hills finish third at the two-day Clovis Invitational, then transitioned to the beach less than 12 hours later.

“Because of beach volleyball, I’ve been able to last a lot longer in the gym and my legs have gotten so much stronger,” Hawthorne said. “I’ve been really focused on playing in the gym and helping (Granada Hills) win, so when I play beach volleyball there’s not as much pressure. We’re still competitive out here and we want to win, but we just want to have fun and enjoy the experience.”

Former Glendale College cross country standouts Rosa Del Toro and Nina Moore ran unattached Saturday at Cal State Fullerton’s season-opening meet, finishing fifth and sixth in the 6-kilometer race at behind a UCLA quartet led by Saugus graduate Shannon Murakami and Oak Park alumnae Melissa Skiba.

But the next time Del Toro, a Birmingham graduate, and former Saugus standout Moore race, they should be official members of the Long Beach State roster, as the transfers have been waiting to have their grades from summer school classes confirmed in addition to finalizing their fall schedules.

The additions of Moore, last year’s junior college state cross country champion, and Del Toro – the reigning JC state 1,500-meter champ – should bolster a 49ers roster that includes sophomore Anne Randall, another Saugus graduate, entering the Aztec Invitational on Sept.18 in San Diego.

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